&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "America 250th anniversary: What really happened on July 4, 1776? The answer may surprise you")
Every year on July 4, the United States celebrates its Independence Day. This year, America is celebrating 250 years since its Independence, a milestone that is also known as the Semiquincentennial. Over the years, the day has come to be synonymous with backyard barbecues, parades, and massive fireworks displays. Curiously, popular culture often gets the history of what actually happened on that summer day in 1776 slightly wrong.
Contrary to common belief, the United States did not vote for independence on the Fourth of July, nor did the Founding Fathers sign the famous document on that date. So, what really happened on July 4 1776?
The Real Timeline: July 2 vs July 4
The United States actually achieved its legal separation from Great Britain two days earlier on July 2, 1776. On that day, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and voted unanimously to pass the Lee Resolution, a motion introduced by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, declaring the colonies free and independent states.
So, what happened on July 4? After approving the vote to break away, Congress started meticulously debating and revising the Declaration of Independence, introduced by Thomas Jefferson. After two days, on the afternoon of July 4, 1776, the delegates officially approved and adopted the final, edited text.
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Because the date printed at the top of the widely distributed broadsides was July 4, 1776, that was the date that captured the public imagination and stuck.
So what about the John Trumbull oil painting?
The grand oil painting by John Trumbull that hangs in the US Capitol Rotunda depicts a room full of Founding Fathers stepping forward to sign the parchment together on July 4. In reality, no mass signing took place that day.
On July 4, only two men signed the document: John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress, and Charles Thomson, the secretary. The official, engrossed parchment that sits in the National Archives today wasn't actually signed by the majority of the 56 delegates until August 2, 1776, after it had been formally handwritten onto parchment. Some delegates didn't add their signatures until months later.
